Speaking to the media, BJP deputy floor leader Payal Shankar and party spokesperson J. Sangappa said the government must first amend Section 285 of the Panchayat Raj Act, which governs local body polls, to enable implementation of the reservation.
HYDERABAD: The Telangana BJP has accused the Congress government of creating deliberate confusion over the proposed 42 per cent reservation for Backward Classes (BCs) in local body polls, by simultaneously seeking the Governor’s assent through an ordinance and pushing for the legislation’s inclusion in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution.
Speaking to the media, BJP deputy floor leader Payal Shankar and party spokesperson J. Sangappa said the government must first amend Section 285 of the Panchayat Raj Act, which governs local body polls, to enable implementation of the reservation. They alleged that the Congress government had ignored this legal necessity and was instead resorting to diversionary tactics for political mileage.
Payal Shankar reiterated the BJP’s opposition to religion-based reservations, calling them unconstitutional. He also questioned the government’s failure to allocate the promised Rs 20,000 crore annually for BCs in the past two Budgets, a pledge made in the ‘BC Declaration’ at Kamareddy before the Assembly elections.
He questioned the Chief Minister why BCs were not given 42 per cent representation in the Cabinet and pointed to the fact that less than 10 corporations are currently headed by BC members, despite repeated claims of empowerment.
The BJP leader also criticised the Congress for celebrating the Bill’s passage prematurely and accused the party of engaging in political theatrics. He alleges that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s claims about the success of the so-called ‘Telangana Model’ were hollow, as no tangible benefits had reached BC communities so far.
